We who believe in the Lord Jesus should have no confidence in the flesh; rather, our confidence should be wholly in the Lord, whom we serve in spirit. Amen!
This week in our morning revival we come to the matter of, Having No Confidence in the Flesh and Counting All Things to Be Loss on Account of Christ and the Excellency of the Knowledge of Christ.
In Phil. 4:13 Paul stated that he learned the secret to do all things in Him who empowered him; this word he spoke toward the end of his life, and this entire book of Philippians reveals Paul’s secret of experiencing Christ.
This week we will mainly focus on Phil. 3, a chapter that gives some details and background of our experience of Christ, so that we may learn this secret.
The experience of Christ is for the enjoyment of Christ, and it should issue in the enjoyment of Christ; however, before our experience of Christ something else must come first, that is, the revelation of Christ.
We need to have the excellency of the knowledge of Christ; we need to have a revelation of who Christ is, and such a revelation will cause us to pursue Him, which will bring us into the experience of Christ, and our experience of Christ will cause us to enjoy Christ.
Seeing a revelation of Christ, experiencing Christ, and enjoying Christ is not a matter of teaching but of experience, and it all starts with having a revelation of who Christ is.
Paul’s conversion was recorded three times in the book of Acts (chs. 9, 22, and 26), and if we read this account we may conclude that this revelation was something outward but actually, it was something inward.
Yes, there was a great light that shone on Saul and he did hear a voice outwardly, but he actually was physically blinded, and the revelation he saw was not outward but inward.
In Gal. 1:15-16 he testified that, when it pleased God to reveal His Son in him… – he had Christ revealed not merely to him but in him; this revelation is inward and subjective.
On one hand, we need to have no confidence in the flesh, and on the other hand, we need to count all things as loss on account of the excellency of the knowledge of Christ.
Today in particular we want to see why we as believers in Christ should have no confidence in the flesh, and we open to the Lord that He may shine on us concerning the flesh, that we may realise what is the flesh.
We should have No Confidence in the Flesh but in the Lord whom we Serve in Spirit
Paul testified in Phil. 3:3 that he had no confidence in the flesh but in the Lord whom he served in spirit; as believers in Christ we should have no confidence in the flesh, but our confidence should be wholly in the Lord.
What is this flesh that Paul speaks of? We may think that our flesh is so evil and negative, with many lusts and sins; however, the flesh that Paul described in Phil. 3 is different.
What Paul considered “the flesh” was that he was circumcised the eighth day, that he was of the race of Israel, that he was of the tribe of Benjamin, that he was a Hebrew born of the Hebrews, that as to the law he was a Pharisee, that as to zeal he persecuted the church, and that as to the righteousness which is in the law he had become blameless.
All these were aspects of his flesh, and they were not necessarily all evil. We may think that the flesh includes only evil things and not good things; however, the honorable, lovable, and superior aspects of our natural being are still the flesh.
So we need to say like Paul that we have no confidence in the flesh, especially in the positive and even spiritual aspects of our flesh.
What Paul treasured the most before his conversion was the law; only the Jewish people had the law, he was zealous for the law, he taught the law, he tried to be blameless according to the law, and the law was everything to him until he saw Christ, and then the law became nothing to him.
The flesh in Phil. 3:3-4 comprises all that we have and all that we are in our natural being; it comprises not only the evil things (which we most readily repudiate) but even more the positive aspects of the flesh.
All that we are in our natural being, whether good or bad, whether positive or negative, is the flesh.
According to Philippians 3, religion is one of the things that belongs to the flesh, and religion needs to be repudiated for us to gain Christ.
This matches the thought in Gal. 1, where we see that religion was a substitute for Christ, replacing Christ.
As long as Paul was full of zeal for religion, there was no room in him for Christ; his vessel was full of the law and the zeal for the law and the righteousness for the law, so he had no room for Christ.
The Lord said something concerning this also in Matt. 7:21 where He said that not everyone who says to Him, Lord, Lord, will enter into the kingdom of the heavens; rather, some will say that they prophesied in His name, cast out demons in His name, and did many works of power in His name.
All these are seemingly good and spiritual, yet the Lord will tell them, Depart from Me, workers of lawlessness.
We need to understand that not only the good things we have from birth but also the good things and positive things in our natural man that we acquire throughout our life are part of the flesh; in this flesh we should have no confidence.
We would be foolish to think that the fallen and evil aspects of our flesh can be a replacement for Christ; it is the good things, the positive aspects, the honorable things, and our strong points that can replace Christ.
Lord Jesus, shine on us that we may see what the flesh is; may we have no confidence in the flesh but in the Lord whom we serve in spirit. May we realise that all that we are and have in our natural being is the flesh, and may we be one with You to repudiate, deny, and no longer trust in the flesh. Shine on us, Lord, and unveil us to see that even the good items, the qualifications, and the honorable, lovable, and superior aspects of our natural being are still the flesh. May we learn to have no confidence in the flesh; may our confidence be only in the Lord!
Realising that our Confidence in the Flesh Keeps us from Christ and Dealing with the Flesh
The greatest problems among God’s children are that they do not know what the flesh is and that their flesh has not been dealt with (Rom. 8:8; Gal. 5:24).
Even among us in the church life, we may not be that clear what the flesh is, and if we’re not clear, there’s no way for that part of our natural being to be touched.
This was Paul’s experience, and this was also Peter’s experience; Peter was very zealous for Christ, but he was also very much in the flesh. In the Old Testament we see Job who was very good, full of integrity, and righteous, yet all of it was the flesh, and it kept him from knowing God Himself.
One of the most obvious signs of unchecked flesh is self-confidence; self-confidence is the characteristic of the flesh.
For example, when we look at Saul of Tarsus before he saw Christ, he was so confident in his flesh, and he was convinced that what he was doing was right and he could do it.
This is what society teaches us today – “build up your self-confidence”, “be confident in yourself”, if no, you’re a weak person. It all sounds good but actually, once we see Christ, we lose all confidence in the flesh.
Our confidence in the flesh keeps us from Christ; it replaces Christ, it causes us to have no realisation of our need for Christ, and thus we have no room in our vessel for Christ.
Confidence in the flesh becomes a big substitute for Christ and a big impediment to our experience of Christ. Our experience of Christ begins when we lose all confidence in the flesh.
If we are in the flesh, we cannot please God (Rom. 8:8); the flesh may try to please God, but it can never succeed.
All those who have been smitten by the cross are broken; they have learned to fear God and no longer put their trust and confidence in themselves.
But before we are dealt with by the Lord, we are quick to judge anything that comes our way; we open our mouth, we make judgement, and we give our opinion with ease.
After we have been dealt with by the Lord, we have no confidence in the flesh; our flesh is circumcised, and we no longer believe in ourselves.
By the Lord’s mercy, may we be those who realise that our confidence in the flesh keeps us from Christ and replaces Christ, and may we be before the Lord concerning our flesh, accepting the dealing of the cross, so that we have no confidence in the flesh but in the Lord whom we serve.
When our flesh is dealt with, we will not be full of confidence in ourselves anymore; we will not be quick to express our opinions, we will not pronounce judgement, and we will realise how weak, powerless, and helpless we are before the Lord.
Lord Jesus, cause us to realise that our confidence in the flesh keeps us from experiencing Christ so that we would cooperate with the dealing of the cross. Have mercy on us, and shine on our self-confidence, the most obvious sign of our unchecked flesh. May we see how our confidence in the flesh substitutes Christ, and may we be before You concerning the flesh, accepting the dealing of the cross, so that we may have no confidence in the flesh but in the Lord whom we serve and love! Amen, Lord Jesus, our confidence is not in ourselves but in You!
This article can also be read in the Romanian language / Citiți acest articol în limba română vizitând următorul link, Să nu avem nicio încredere în carne, ci în Domnul pe care Îl servim în duh.
References and Hymns on this Topic
- Inspiration: the Word of God, my enjoyment in the ministry, the message by bro. Mark Raabe for this week, and portions from, The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, ch 5 (by Watchman Nee), as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, The Experience of Christ (2019 Memorial Day Conference), week 5, Having No Confidence in the Flesh and Counting All Things to Be Loss on Account of Christ and the Excellency of the Knowledge of Christ.
- Hymns on this topic:
# I hardly know myself; / Deceived so much by pride, / I often think I’m right / And am self-satisfied. / I know Thee even less; / In doctrine, shallowly; / True revelation lack / Of Thy reality. / Oh, may Thy living light, Lord, / Scatter all my night, Lord, / And everything make bright, Lord, / For this I pray to Thee. (Hymns #426)
# Now I know myself in part, / And confess my helplessness; / All my temperament is odd, / All my life corrupted is. / Subtle self I cannot trust, / Nor to fleshly strength can cling; / All my trust and all my hope / Is in Jesus Christ my King. (Hymns #412)
# All I have in Adam is but sin and death, / I in Christ inherit life and righteousness; / When in flesh abiding, Adam I express, / But when in the spirit Christ is manifest. (Hymns #593)
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